With outcome based skilling programmes, Simplilearn redefines training for Indian IT Industry

Updated: Jul 28, 2016, 11.05 AM IST

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Big Data, Cloud and Digital Marketing are among the leading technologies changing the face of Indian IT industry today. This shift is compelling more and more IT & ITeS firms to up-skill their workforce in these digital domains. With an industry-high course completion rate of 72 per cent, Simplilearn is one of the leading training providers for enterprises, and that is helping individuals build digital skills through flexible online training solutions. In an exclusive interview with The Economic Times, Krishna Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, talks about how enterprises can build a productive workplace with innovative learning to stay ahead in the market and ensure that their employees don't become outdated in this ever-changing world of technologies.

Edited excerpts:

What do you see as the biggest trend in the IT training industry?

Training has always played a key role in the Indian IT industry where organisations invest heavily in preparing thousands of fresh graduates for the workforce with classroom training sessions. To keep pace with the demand for digital services, IT organisations now want to ensure that employees with legacy skills adapt to these technologies and stay relevant. With diverse workforces spread across geographies, these firms have already started adopting innovative online training programs that meet the learning demands of these fast changing new-age technologies.

We have collaborated with over 2000 corporates in enabling them to achieve their L&D goals through outcome-based training delivered via our flexible learning platform. The training solutions are based on digital technologies, where time-crunched employees can learn at their convenience, from anywhere, and at any time. From getting trained by global experts to live-projects and cloud based labs, employees are assessed on their skills before they apply them in real-life scenarios.

With an online course completion rate of 10% or lower, how can successful up-skilling be delivered?

The key challenge leading to lower course completion rates is the busy schedules of working professionals. To address this, we have focused on providing flexibility of learning and driving higher engagement. Our flagship offering Flexi-Pass is the first of its kind in the market, where employees can learn from world-class faculty via multiple online classrooms that are scheduled across time-zones, providing the flexibility to learn based on an individual's availability. The combination of instructor-led model, live-projects, labs and online-self learning has translated into an industry-high 72% course completion rate.

How do you ensure that employees stick to their training schedules without losing interest?

Sustaining the learner's focus is crucial and our online-self learning model is designed to help them stay motivated. Our learning management system (LMS) delivers seamless self-learning experience that is the need of today's employees.

Many MOOC learners drop out because of a lack of hands-on activity. To address this gap, our courses include live industry projects, CloudLab integration (for Big Data courses), and innovative elements added like study plans, community discussions, quizzes, simulated exams, and more.

One of the key focus areas for corporates today is to nurture the culture of continual learning. How is Simplilearn enabling helping them achieve this?

Our Masters' Programme is designed to encourage continual learning amongst employees via clear and structured learning paths for various job roles. Recommended by industry experts, learners go through a step-by-step learning path with constant mentoring, live projects and on-demand support. For instance, a marketing manager can achieve expertise across the digital marketing domain by gaining advanced skills in SEO, PPC, Social Media and Web Analytics in detail.

With new-age technologies changing so fast, how do you ensure that the training programme is current?

All our sought-after courses in categories like digital marketing, data science, analytics, agile & scrum, cloud, IT security and mobile development are aligned to global accreditation bodies. They are updated 2-3 times every year. So, employees receive training in the latest and most relevant skills. In addition to a large network of expert trainers who work closely with us, we also work with industry experts like Avinash Kaushik, Brad Geddes, Joseph Steinberg and Bruce Fieggen who advise us in building courses as per the industry requirements.

What's next on the horizon for Simplilearn?

Over the next 18-24 months, we will see more companies across sectors investing in up-skilling their workforce while they adapt to the technology changes. We will continue to expand our library of courses with a focus on bringing innovation to the organisational learning process to drive better adoption, engagement and RoI.